In a televised address to the American public Wednesday, President Obama laid out plans for using military force to destroy the ISIS terrorist network. Here are the arguments for and against U.S. intervention in Iraq and Syria:

The Case For Intervention

Keeps the rust off the ol’ war machine

Helps bring stability to Assad regime

Obama says ISIS is like a cancer, and we all know cancer is bad

Great chance to win those last few Iraqi hearts and minds we didn’t quite get to during last campaign

Beacon of freedom, moral high ground, all that shit

It’s already happening, so just go with it

The Case Against Intervention

Could set negative precedent of engaging in armed conflict without official congressional approval

Recklessly marches nation into war before trade and tourism sanctions can have any effect

Just going to have to do it all over again in six years, 13 years, 17 years, and 21 years anyway

Means U.S. government is publicly flip-flopping on whether Syrian civilians’ lives have any value

Pretty much guaranteed to cut off diplomatic relations with eventual Islamic State of Iraq